Movie Short Review: ‘Falsified’

Greetings again from the darkness. Is it possible to focus on our future without knowing our past? “The Lost Children of Francoism” (also known as “Los Ninos Robados”) is the label applied to the systematic snatching of nearly 300,000 babies from the 1930’s to the 1980’s. What began as racial cleansing and political brainwashing developed into big business. Ashley Tabatabai wrote, produced, stars in, and co-directed with Stefan Fairlamb this account of one such child … now grown into a man.

Mitchell Mullin (“Outlander”) stars as a man who made a vow to his wife that led to a 32 year search for their stolen son. His quest and research have culminated in a coffee shop meeting with a man played by the filmmaker himself. “Javier” is quite defensive and claims to have only agreed to meet in order to get the sickly elderly gentleman to stop harassing him and his family.

Their second meeting takes place somewhat ironically in a church. The reason for the child’s abduction so many years ago is unknown. They wonder if it was for religious, political, or financial reasons … though finally deciding that the reasons don’t matter. What does matter is our roots – our identity. That’s the focus on this excellent 15 minute short film, rather than the extremism of Franco’s dictatorship. Howard Carter’s mostly piano score adds a nice element to the uncomfortable, yet believable scenes between the two men.